Game apparatus, including mechanical projector



March 13, 1951 J. c. JACKSON GAME APPARATUS, INCLUDING MECHANICAL PROJECTOR Filed June 20, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Il Ill)! 62 lln elllor James [lJn mafia N B and WM? Attorneys J. C. JACKSON GAME APPARATUS, INCLUDING MECHANICAL PROJECTOR March 13, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1946 JHMES II. Jncvfnw 9 March 13, 1951 J. c. JACKSON GAME APPARATUS, INCLUDING MECHANICAL PROJECTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 20, 1946 James 1:. Jnmicm 9g March 13, 1951 J. c. JACKSON GAME APPARATUS, INCLUDING MECHANICAL PROJECTOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4= Filed June 20, 1946 Inventor JFIMES [3.Jncvfuu B) 2A1. me

Patented Mar. 13, 1951 STATES OFF-1C 1 camnnneennus, memnmc.

' MEQHANICAL mommies.

JamesG; Jackson, New Grleans, La. hgnljcationtlhnetg 94fi,-;Scria1-No vti'iehtlflz This invention. relates to. a. same apparatu f 'anclhas for. its primary object. to .af ordiente tainm nt and; amusement iorrrown-ups an children alike.

1 Another object is totest-the. shill a playe properly t directo-ahscoring ball into a scorin pocket. 7

- The above and Otherohiects may be attained ,by employing this intention. which embodies among its-features a playing fie tlihaving scoring pockets at one-end, scratchpoeliets at. oppos sides oftheplaying .,fieldg awhile bal meansto gsupport ,ascoring hall in a hcsitionto he st uck w- (by the .cue balliantl1vdriv nrtowiar sth s t i .lgn k ts and manually operat d m ans'i caus Line he ,cu'ei'ball'toi trik -the seorin fb other featuresii nelud a ivotally supp rt d Spring. e the by Whi hthG cue ball may be Still other-features "include an inclined playing field so that-as'coring ball which fails-to enter one of the scring-pockets-may be' returned to playing position or mayfind its wa t intoa "-scra-tchpocketj 1 r t still other featureseincludedischarging from,

the -pocketsba11's Which mawhavecollected the-reiii-and returning themto playing positionionz'the playing field where they may: again-he struck-:by

-"-'the' cue ball and -driven-inwme directionof the scoring pockets. y

In the drawings: Figure '1 is ua tonihlangview azeame-ahpa- :ratus embodying the features of" th seinvention in-rcresclearlrillnstratewertain deta ls 0i 69hstr'11c.t.i011; A

h eur rz; is ai cneitudinsl vertical sectional Q: vi w throughzt re me-apparatusillustratedin Figure 1,

.- F gure; 371 aihorizontal ,iongitudinalsectional th ughttheeeamesa paratns.

Rig-c e w 2in; enlargfichztrahsverse, sectional y ewthrque ethetievie ganql Eie rams asf aamentaryrsectional iview take 7 substantially along the-line 5 0i Figure 3.. R ferring tc 'zthe;dr w ngs 1in-detail, Z-my': im-

' proved. sameianparaths;eomprises-zaz-bed lnlprefx abiyssustained inantin lined posi ion and havatiia en hymn-Tendon transversely-spaced w-tchpart ti hsd l ferninggballreceiving ockets 7 1 Claim; (clears- I1, itheinaund rstoodt at t be ei eut'awa between the partitions "to form passages for-the playin balls as will be more fully hereinafter exp a ned: Formed in e mediate the ends ofth .ined b d It and su a y midwaWb tween theside edges thereof is an opening l-3"the Dill-pose at which willbe'gmore fully hereinafter explained. Mounted'on the. upper surfaceof-the edinearo the openin lfiiare conv rg n -walls: l4 Whifill cooperate in orm ng aeholder by which: a scoring .hall s helcl' posit -to be struck-b vthe th hall t9. "he more ul y ereina e "de- I scribed; also ca r ed-b h ph a o th .hesli .LB and spaced; s gh y "bel w the convergent walls I! are divergent walls: l5 which cooperate with. con ergent wal 16 in d fi in an ar a 11 inowhich cu ba l 60 s nfin d arrier 2| xtends.betw en ln e ds-of'theconver en walls 14 and a iikeMbarrier-Qfi extends-"between the vcom/ewent l we endsv .ofthe walls 16 and these barriers are relatively low to enable the cue -ba11j to, be struck by a cue, and item turnqto ;u.. I v

.the device so. that ascor s ball which a s-t camera scoring pocket. will either be returned--to strikea sc r g ba l which may e 'g ga h m barrier .20., oFormedadia t th l w end fof the bed is spaced relation to the barrierfll is a transversely'extending arcuateslotn which is concentric with a like slot 23; the purpose'of which will be more fully'hereinafter explained. Formed. in the bed adjacent opposite; sides; are elongatedopenings 2 4 forming scratch vpockets of glaying positionor will enter one of the scratch pocketsvszhere ittremainsoout of play forthe recs his. tube 2.6..ext nds perp ndic a y h ation theflbejd 0 and is flo med intermediate its ends witheballiadmitting Qpening ZT which-aligns with the halls return trough to be more fully hereinafter giescribed; A1p1unger28 is mounted N torslid e inthe tfeetlitl e 26; andthehea i f- 1 plungenisadaptetlitoa ign with 'pj ay nei u faceroi, thesbed L0; after .asooring hall hasheen deliv red throu h-the. tube n ord r to present afimooth surfaceover which the 'ball may travel when stru k by the ll6'vba11. Extend n ftranseversely beneath the load lfl and glirectly under released.

3 through longitudinal slots 3| and 32 formed respectively in th tube 26 and the plunger 28, and pivotally connected to the end of the lever which is contained within the interior of the plunger 28 is a link 33 the opposite end of which is pivoted to the plunger so that as the lever rocks under the influence of the rock shaft 29 the plunger will be raised or lowered within the tube 26 according to the direction of movement f the shaft. A counter-weight 34 is supported on the end of the lever 30 opposite that to which the link 33 is attached so as normally to hold the plunger in elevated position. Attached to one end of the shaft 29 is a hand lever 35 terminating in a hand grip 36 so that a player may grasp the hand lever and rock the shaft 29 to depress the plunger 28 to a position below the lever arm 5| having formed at its pivoted end a cross bar 52 to which the ends of the links 41' are pivotally connected as at 53 so that when the lever 44 is rocked about its pivot the lever arm 5| will move in unison therewith. This lever arm cooperates with a cam 54 carried on the underside of the trap door 40 so that as the lever arm 5i isrocked about its pivot the trap door 40 will be elevated or lowered, it being understood that the cam 54 is provided with spaced high points so that this trap door works in unison with the trap doors 42 to discharge the opening 21 so as to admit a scoring ball into the tube 26 for elevation into playing position. Upon release of the hand lever .35, the counterweight will restore the plunger to its initial elevated position as illustrated in Figure 2.

Supported below the bed In in spaced relation thereto is a substantially transversely V-shaped: platform 31, opposite sides of which converge toward a longitudinally and centrally disposed trough 38 in which the scoring balls are stored preparatory to their delivery into playing position through the tube 26. It is to be noted that the platform 31 is also inclined downwardly toward the opening 21 in the tube '26 so that the scoring balls will gravitate toward the opening ets I2 is a trap door 40 which when in playing position lies in a plane substantially parallel with the bed ill to form a bottom for the pockets [2 so that when a scoring ball entersa selected one i of the pockets it will be retained therein in such a position as to prevent a second scoring ball from entering the same pocket. Similar trap doors 42 are pivotally mounted as at 43 below the openings 24 in order to sustain scoring balls which may find their way into one or the other of the openings 24 against discharge into the trough 38, until such time as all trap doors are In order to sustain the trap doors 40 and 42 in elevated position I employ mechanism best illustrated in Figure 3. This mechanism comprises a hand lever 44 which is pivoted at 45 be neath the bed ill directly to the rear of the feed a cam 49 carried on the under side of its respective trap door 42 and each such cam is provided with spaced high points so that when the lever 44 is thrown into either of the dotted line positions illustrated in Figure 3 the trap doors 42 will be held in elevated or closed position but when the lever is moved into the full line position illustrated in Figure 3 the trap doors 42 may fall by gravity into open position so as to discharge the contents of the scratch pockets onto the platform 31. Pivoted as at to the bed [0, and near the row of scoring pockets {2 is a contents of the scoring pockets at the same time that the contents of the scratch pockets are be in discharged.

In order to manipulate the cue ball a bar 55 is pivotally supported as at 56' to the underside of the bed in directly beneath the point at which the cue ball comes to rest, between the convergent walls I6, and carried by this arm is a pair of guide brackets 55 and 51 which extend upwardly through the arcuate slots 22 and 23 respectively. These guide brackets 56 and 51 are provided with aligned openings through which a plunger 58 slides, and carried at the inner end of the plunger is a one tip 59 for contact with the cue ball 68 when the latter is at rest against its stop 2|. A compression coil spring 6! surroundsthe plunger 58 between the guide brackets 56 and51 and one end of said spring is connected to" the plunger 58 while its '-opposite end abuts the bracket .arm 51 so that when pull is exerted on the plunger by means of a thumb piece 62 carried by the plunger at the end opposite the tip 59, the spring will be compressed. When the thumb piece is released the plunger 58 will drive the tip 59 forcibly =driven towards the pockets I2.

against the cue ball to cause the latter to. be propelled into contact with a scoring ball 63 which may be resting between the converging guides i4, so that the latter will be forcibly Obviously by swinging the bar 55 about its pivot the plunger 58 may be aimed to cause the tip 56 to strike the cue ball 61! and thereby impart a spinning motion to the scoring ball as the cue ball strikes :the latter off center.

The entire mechanism is preferably housed within a suitable casing 64 which is provided with appropriate slots through which the plunger 58 may project and through which the lever 44 may project for accessibility by the player.

A transparent panel 65 encloses the upper side of the playing surface of the bed l0, and the playing surface of the bed [0 and the surfaces of the platform 31 and trough 38 are preferably covered as at 66 with any suitable sound deadening material such as felt. Deflectors 61 are secured to the underside of the transparent panel 65 at strategic points which will prevent the balls 58 and 63 from injuring or breaking the panel should they jump under the influence of the impact incident to their being driven.

A stop or further deflector 6 1 depends from the panel 65 slightly to the left of the abutment 2n as'shown in Figure 2, to 'prevent"the cue ball 60 from jumping over the abutment 26.

' The stop 61' therefore tends to retain the one be two pockets numbered'l, two pockets numbered 2 and two pockets numbered 3 and one pocket numbered '7 There will be one scoring ball 63 for each pocket It and the balls will be numbered in accordance with the numbering of the pockets. To make a perfect score with this game apparatus the balls numbered 2 must be driven into the pockets numbered 2, one in each pocket, the balls numbered 1 must be driven into the pockets numbered 1, the balls numbered 3 must be driven into the poockets numbered 3 and the ball numbered '7 must be driven into the pocket numbered 7. Should a ball enter a pocket already occupied by a ball, the second ball entering will roll from the pocket and pass back over the playing field or into one of the scratch pockets and be removed from the game or it may find its way back into position between the convergent walls in a position for replaying. If the ball fails to enter one of the scratch pockets and returns to a playing position it can be again played by the player.

The handle 46 is adapted to be moved from one side of the casing to the opposite side as indicated in full and dotted lines in Figure 3. When said handle 46 is in either of its dotted line positions the trap doors are held elevated to prevent balls from moving out of said pockets into the trough. The trap doors are lowered to open the pockets for the discharge of balls therefrom into the trough 38 when the handle 46 is in the full line position as shown in Figure 2. The cams of the trap doors each have a low portion and a pair of spaced high portions to permit the foregoing operation to be carried out.

A depending arm 61a is carried by the stem portion of the T-shaped lever 44 for the purpose of engaging the counterweight 34 when the handle 46 is in ball-releasing position so as to lock the plunger 28 against downward movement in the tube 26 during the discharge of the scoring balls from the pockets.

An arcuate bar 68 (Figure 3) is mounted in I the casing 64 directly beneath the T-shaped lever 44 and this bar 68 is provided with spaced notches 69 and opening 10 adjacent opposite ends. A dog H is pivoted intermediate its ends on the lever 44 to co-act with the notches of the bar 68 to prevent a reverse movement of the handle during the latters movement from one side of the casing to the other. A coil spring 12, terminally secured to the lever and to one end of the dog H. tends to retain the dog H in longitudinal alignment with the lever 44. When 6 the handle reaches either of its dotted line positions, as shown in Figure 3, the dog will enter the adjacent opening 10 to permit the dog to reverse its position and allow movement of the handle in a reverse direction.

Having described the invention, I claim:

In a, game apparatus including a bed, means mounted adjacent one end of said bed for supporting a cue ball, means mounted on said bed adjacent said one end thereof for confining a cue ball to a limited area of the bed, means mounted on the bed intermediate the ends thereof and adjacent the cue ball confining means for supporting a scoring ball in position to be struck by a cue ball confined within the cue ball confining'means, a support arm disposed beneath the bed, a pivot pin securing the arm to said bed directly beneath a cue ball supported by said first mentioned means, a, pair of guide brackets projecting upwardly from said arm and being spaced along the arm, said bed having a pair of arcuate slots therein slidably receiving said brackets, and a spring urged plunger slidably mounted on said brackets and disposed above the bed for urging a cue ball supported on said first mentioned means toward a scoring ball.

JAMES C. JACKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 512,104 Fishel Jan. 2, 1894 1,186,878 Brown June 13, 1916 1,545,959 Huyler July 14, 1925 1,598,214 Milewski Aug. 31, 1926 1,730,523 Nicholas Oct. 8, 1929 1,859,220 Richards May 17, 1932 1,890,950 Sharp Dec. 13, 1932 1,925,918 Cox Sept. 5, 1933 1,938,495 Paulin Dec. 5, 1933 1,980,125 Whitney Nov. 6, 1934 1,986,152 Loaring Jan. 1, 1935 2,024,835 Rockola Dec. 1'7, 1935 2,045,217 Dean June 23, 1936 2,098,320 Traver Nov. 9, 1937 2,098,417 Fisher Nov. 9, 1937 2,130,050 Walters Sept. 13, 1938 

